SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19119, 10 September 1925, Page 13

SOCIAL NEWS.

Mr. and Mrs. 0. S. Swinnock returned by the Tofua on Monday after a three mouths' visit to the Islands.

* Mile. Lydia Lopokova is to many Mr. John Maynard Keynes, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, the well-known economist. Mile. Lopokova was born in Russia 33 years ago. Before she was 20 years old she was a prima ballerina, and with the Dighileff troupe she took part in performances all over the world. Mr. Keynes, who is 42, is remembered particularly for his treatise, "The Economic Consequences of the Peace."

The Earl of Longford, who is known at Oxford as "The Shy Earl," was married at St. Margaret's Church, Oxford, recently, to a graduate of Somerville, Miss Christine Trew, daughter of the late Richard Trew, of Cheddar, and of Mrs. Trew, of Oxford. Both were undergraduates when they met more than two years ago. Efforts had been made to keep the ceremony secret, but crowds assembled outside the church. Miss Trew, who took her B.A. degree two years ago, was unattended by bridesmaids or pages.

" To-day women scientists and engineers are able to hold good positions, both technical and executive." This is the opinion of Miss C. Griff, who presided at the International Conference of Women at Wembley held recently. She claimed that women had attained those positions through the Sex Disqualification Act, the breaking down of prejudice by engineering societies, enthusiasm, and hard work. In London women wero ■ staffing an engineering works, directing a steel company, writing scientific and technical papers. Women in the various branches of science were, she said, greatly in advance of women engineers.

In the course of an interesting lecture upon forestry given at Victoria College to the Wellington branch of the Federation of University Women, Miss Sutherland, B.Sc. in forestry,, spoke of the necessity for forestry in New Zealand and the scope of its work in this country. The life history of countries showed that in the first stage of man's settlement in them he was dominated by the forests. In the next stage the forests were dominated* by him. . That was usually the beginning of the end as far as the forests were concerned, until people got to the stage of understanding the necessity for conserving their forests. Of the whole area of a country, 20 per cent, should bo forest, Miss Southerland told her hearers. In New Zealand we now had only eleven and a third per cent, forest, and our safety figure should be 20 per cent. We had got to the scare stage and now had to build up.

The League of New Zealand Pen Women opened their club rooms in Colwill's Building, Swanson Street, on. Tuesday afternoon with a " housewarming." Speeches were made by the president, Mrs. Mary Stuart Boyd, Mrs. Carr Rollett, Mrs. Laird Cooke and Mrs. V. Macky. The league was in receipt of many beautiful gifts from members to whom votes of thanks were passed. Letters of c6ngratulation were read from Miss Mary Bird Clayos, vice-president Northern California League of American Pen Women, and Lady Adams, who had recently been the guest of honour at a luncheon given by the Berkley Branch League of American Pen Women. The following members were present:—Mrs. Mary Stuart Boyd, Mrs. Carr Rollett, Mrs. Cluett, Mrs. Laird Cooke, Mrs. Haresnape, Mrs. Barr, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Crump, Mrs. Brownlee, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Ihmningham, Mrs. Quartley, Mrs. Boswell, Mrs. Osborne, Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Blanpied, Mrs. Victor Macky, Miss Elsie Morton, Miss Mona Gordon, Miss Payter, Miss Robertson, Miss Gardner, Miss Seth Smith and Miss Jones.

The winning of the Grand Prix de Rome for painting by Mile. Pauvert has created a sensation in artistic Paris, in that, she is the first woman who has been so honoured. Mile. Pauvert is only 22, and comes of a family of artists, states an English exchange. Her picture, "The Legend of Saint-Ronan," has nothing prodigious about it, which is the chief reason of its appeal. Both she and her sister have painted a great deal * in Brittany, and from earliest youth have been saturated both with the spirit of the country and with the beautiful light, so attractive to artists generally. Perhaps the most impressive feature aboi*t the picture is that in spite of its competent technique, it might well have been painted by a girl. It is not a copy, not an imitation, not even inspired, as is .so often the case, by the male artist. > The religious spirit is definitely feminine; so also is the suggestion of adoration. It is full of the "coeur de jeune fille" and perhaps Mile. Pauvert would by no means be able to paint anything of the kind in five years' time. In view of the derivative character often attributed to feminine painting and frequently deserved by it, it is of the highest interest to see a young, religious painting by a girl which is full of sincere appeal, and which has a different angle from similar pictures by men. Mile. Pauvert has already studied for some years at the Beaux-Arts and has been throhgh the fire of contact with other people without losing her own individuality. The attribution of the Grand Prix de Rome this year has met with fewer criticisms than is usual owing to the marked superiority of the work of this girl of 22.